Delivering and Evaluating Lecture Recording

Delivering and evaluating lecture recording

Digital transformation of learning and teaching at the University of Edinburgh Foreword

The University of Edinburgh has targeted an improved student digital experience by investing several million pounds in a state-of-the-art lecture recording system that has covered over 300 rooms in less than three years. Our approach is based on being widely flexible and enabling choices of formats and pedagogy.

The ability to watch lectures again as an aid to revision is Melissa Highton immensely popular with our students and capturing video Director of Learning, Teaching and and audio recordings of lectures at scale will supplement Web Services the rich set of online resources that already exist to support Assistant Principal Online Learning learning.

There are many proven benefits to making recordings of lectures available including supporting students for whom English is not a first language and ensuring that our face- -to-face lectures are available in an alternative format for students who require it. Not having to take notes at speed allows students to focus more on what is being said and use valuable contact time to ask questions, knowing that notes can be reviewed and improved later.

This brochure tells the story of the origin, procurement and successful roll-out of this Lecture Recording Programme and the launch of the new service, Media Hopper Replay. It encapsulates three years of intensive team effort, meticulous planning and interdisciplinary support. Our learning technology teams have shown themselves to be expert in the jobs they do. As an organisation we gained a huge amount from the process: academic insight, student satisfaction, new research fields, communications strategies, technical know-how and a field-tested working model of how to complete a project of this ambition. I sincerely hope it will be of interest to you. Contents

02 11 21 Executive summary The right people with the Programme evaluation and right skills and knowledge research 03 The benefits of large-scale 12 22 lecture recording Communications The value of lecture recording at Edinburgh 04 15 Student-centred innovation Training 23 Student voices, academic 05 voices Governance and leadership 16 Policy 26 07 Key statistics The challenges of delivering 17 the project The right technology – Echo360 and Media Hopper 28 Replay A model of lecture recording 08 delivery Project timeline The University of Edinburgh’s strategy is to be a world leader in digital education

We believe that by considering the widest Executive summary possible range of technical, academic, policy, and social factors around Project background lecture recording, we have The University of Edinburgh’s strategy is to be a world leader achieved a model for lecture in digital education, and to offer an outstanding student recording, and indeed experience to as diverse a group of students as possible. In other learning technology 2017-19 the University delivered a comprehensive lecture implementations that could recording service to enhance the student experience and be emulated elsewhere in part or whole. A large part bring extensive pedagogical and research benefits. of our ethos has also been Edinburgh is not the first university to deliver large-scale lecture recording, but to work as openly as we the scope of what was planned made it a challenging project which involved possibly can, sharing and engagement and activity with all parts of the organisation. The programme reflecting on our practice covered over 300 teaching spaces and was one of the largest digital audio- at every stage of our work. visual upgrades to take place in the UK. With that in mind we have The delivery of the Lecture Recording Programme was divided into three tried to make as many of phases to include replacement of old kit, expansion into new rooms, the our resources as possible development of an institution-wide opt-out policy, and integration with available online, and where Timetabling and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) systems. A number of possible under open licenses. strategic choices were made at each stage, with the aim of ensuring the ‘best fit’ for the institution.

As an example, we have made a useful collection of resources on copyright and open licensing for lecture recording available at: 02 https://open.ed.ac.uk/copyright-and-open-licensing-for-lecture-recording/ The benefits of large-scale lecture recording

03 Student-centred innovation

Many of our students have complex lives and are balancing The recordings have study alongside caring responsibilities, or the need to work to really helped. The ability to go over an idea slowly and fund their studies. Recordings of lectures can lessen anxiety listen to it being explained has been about keeping on top of study and provide a safety net when very useful. It has really life circumstances prevail. revolutionised revision for not just me but many others on the course. University of Lecture recordings can Edinburgh student support a wide range of accessibility and inclusivity needs including those: • who are visually impaired • who work with a scribe to create text notes from lectures • who need support for neurodiversity • who may find physical attendance overwhelming • for whom English is not their first language • who are learning complex technical terms • who experience debilitating anxiety as a result of missing classes

Lecture recording offers all students Recorded lectures are a useful an opportunity to watch again to back-up for the 38% of students* Recorded lectures are a deepen learning and understanding. who admit that they do miss the useful back-up for the Students can rewind and review occasional lecture. They are also material anywhere, anytime and popular because they allow the catch up on points they may have learning process to be reshaped and 38% of missed to support exam preparation blended with other digital resources. and aid learning. We identified many areas where students who admit that they do miss the lecture recording may benefit the wider university community, such occasional lecture as providing new opportunities for research, supporting pedagogical innovation, reducing the risk of lecturing as a ‘high-stakes’ activity, and better supporting students *The Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey, 2016 04 through stressful transitions. Governance and leadership

The governance structure was designed to Transformation teams ensure colleagues across the University were Consultation and evaluation were embedded able to participate in the creation of the new into the Lecture Recording Programme from the service. start. Media Hopper Replay is first and foremost a resource to enhance learning and teaching Remit of the Programme Board – academic colleagues are at the heart of The Programme Board was chaired by Melissa Highton, implementation and students helped us to shape Assistant Principal Online Learning. The Board was the service and support implementation. responsible for the strategic oversight of the Programme and for ensuring that overall Programme goals were We established a range of forums to support met. There was senior academic representation on this the rollout of Media Hopper Replay over the Board from the University’s three Colleges: the College three years of the Programme, all of which of Science and Engineering, the College of Medicine and involve academic and student representation. Veterinary Medicine and the College of Arts, Humanities These covered technical, academic use, policy and Social Sciences as well as key stakeholders such as Estates, Timetabling and Edinburgh University Students’ development and evaluation. Participants from all Association. Colleges were represented on the following key strategic groups: Remit of the Implementation • Programme Board Steering Group The Implementation Steering Group was chaired by • Implementation Steering Group Anne-Marie Scott, Deputy Director of Learning, Teaching • Policy Task Group and Web Services. The Steering Group provided oversight on the delivery of the Programme including software, • Academic User Group integration, training, accessibility, scope, tolerances, service levels and completion of projects. There was • Technical Special Interest Group Senior IT representation from the University’s three • Engagement and Evaluation Group Colleges along with Timetabling and academic staff input.

Remit of the Policy Task Group The Policy Task Group reported to the Senate Learning and Teaching Committee (LTC) and was chaired by Melissa Highton, Assistant Principal Online Learning. It made recommendations to LTC regarding policy for lecture recording, developing supporting guidelines, consultation and communication. The policy task group included representation from the Students Association and the University and Colleges Union (UCU). The resulting policy is owned by Senior Vice Principal of the University, Professor Charlie Jeffrey, chair of LTC. The policy development process conformed to rigorous guidelines, as set out by Academic Services, and continued throughout 2017-18. 05 Remit of the Academic Remit of the Technical Remit of the Evaluation User Group Special Interest Group and Engagement Group The Academic User Group was The Technical Special Interest Group The Engagement and Evaluation chaired by Professor Susan Rhind, was chaired by Euan Murray, Head Group was chaired by Professor Assistant Principal for Feedback and of Learning Spaces Technology, Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Assistant Assessment, and latterly Dr Michael and included representatives from Principal for Research-led Teaching. Seery, Director of Teaching for the School-based learning technologists. Its remit was to ensure that the School of Chemistry. The group It provided a place to discuss opportunities offered by the provided academic leadership and the many different technical introduction of lecture recording professional expertise on teaching requirements and challenges of were exploited to maximise the and learning to champion the working with performance spaces, benefit for learning and teaching use of the Media Hopper Replay labs, chalkboards and overflow halls at the University. This involved service within Schools and Colleges. and drew on a diverse range of establishing and overseeing the Membership was drawn from experience to develop innovative implementation of a strategy for the academic colleagues within Schools implementation solutions. effective evaluation of the benefits and Colleges. The purpose of the realised by the implementation of group was to ensure the views and lecture recording. The group also interests of future users of the service received reports from research were represented on the Programme projects looking specifically at Board. They also provide pedagogical lecture recording in disciplines. This expertise on teaching and learning work was supported by the Benefits practice to support the work Realisation Project whose Project delivered by the Programme. Board was chaired by Dr Sabine Rolle, Dean of Undergraduate studies for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

A snapshot of our Phase 2 Governance Structure

Programme Board

Policy Academic User Group Engagement and Programme Evaluation Management Business Lead Chair Melissa Highton Susan Rhind / Michael Seery Chair Programme Manager Policy Ofﬁcer Sarah Cunningham-Burley Annie Heaney Neil McCormick Communications Ofﬁcer Lorraine Spalding

Technical SIG Implementation Steering Group Business Lead Project Sponsor Euan Murray Anne-Marie Scott PMO Mark Ritchie

Implementation Project Project Manager Colin Forrest

Rooms Scheduling Data UoE Service Reporting Training Migration Management Structure Business Lead Business Leads Business Lead Business Lead Business Lead Euan Murray Robert Garnett Business Leads Business Leads Marc Jennings Jennifer Marc Jennings Marc Jennings Naveed Shah Euan Murray Houston Marc Jennings Lisa MacDonald 06 Staff and student engagement Staff and students had some valid concerns about the introduction of lecture recording. We listened to these concerns and consulted with colleagues at every stage of the process. We decided to invest heavily in extensive training, support and communications resources to enable comprehensive and meaningful engagement with all of our 22 academic Schools. Engaging meaningfully with staff and students across multiple locations, navigating competing priorities, accommodating different levels of experience with lecture recording and managing a diverse range of interests, were some of the challenges to be addressed in our activities. The result of this investment in engagement has been the improved design and tailoring of the resulting service for users.

The technology landscape The technology landscape at the University of Edinburgh The challenges of is complex but we make choices of technology based on standards for interoperability. It was essential that we leverage existing systems to deliver a comprehensive delivering the project service. Our learning technology teams had already built a significant media asset management system Our Programme faced significant challenges and integrating these existing systems with large-scale over the three years of its delivery including lecture recording technology to create a seamless media management suite was a new challenge. tight timescales, a period of sustained industrial action, the implementation of The new lecture recording service also now integrates GDPR, and a student occupation of one of with the University’s Virtual Learning Environments and central Timetabling system. our largest buildings. Our AV fit-out plan was designed to work around limited access Managing data to teaching venues during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which is a key part of the We knew from the start that it would be important for the service to be able to provide useful reporting University’s civic and public engagement. data. The University of Edinburgh is the eighth-largest university by enrolment in the UK with 41,000 students. Our physical estate Those students are on hundreds of courses and attend One of the largest challenges was the size and shape of thousands of lectures a week. We took a planned our physical estate. Our plan had to work for buildings of approach to networking technology, digital storage and all sizes, ages, locations and conditions. media access and to providing reports on usage, uptake, The 300+ lecture spaces to be equipped with recording microphone failures and levels of opt-out across Schools. technology were spread across five main campuses. They varied greatly in size, from seminar rooms with a handful of desks to 300-seat lecture theatres. Many of our buildings, such as our

Many of our buildings, such as our Easter Bush Vet School Easter Bush Vet School are new and have been built with modern technology are new and have been built with in mind. Old College, however, was designed by Robert Adam in 1789 and Old Moray House was built in modern 1618. Many University buildings are an integral part of technology Edinburgh’s Old and New towns which are recognised in mind with UNESCO World Heritage status. 07 Recording now Symposium on policy policy Consultation New lecture most outof getting the courses now

2019 2018linked to the 2017 2016 recording recording 500 Jan University recording completed competive opt-out on anew policy to lecture rounds of support support starts service dialogue lecture begins All 3

and released for sessions onthe booth launches Tender finalised Pop-up video the final bids Invitation to new Replay - gathering views from Scheduler staff and Project Timeline Lecture Recording Programme students Drop-in Feb sessions beginto PROCUREMENT lecture recording. group workshop discussions start Academic user help establish local student completed and Technology focuses on guidance Showcase Learning contract Scoring Mar platform granted group workshop supplier chosen, Academic user recoding policy revised lecture analysed and Consultation completed concluded, for service responses access to Preferred sessions contract drafted Apr Phase 3... TRANSFORMATION Phase 2...EXPANSION service and Replay Scheduler of lectures being begin inearnest v2 specification Implementation 475,238 47.5% accessing the preparations lecture views of students recorded agreed May 43%

the 2019Echo360 The University of 3-year programme Edinburgh hosts teaching spaces Student Helper lecture recording name lecture to install lecture Vote heldto Presentation on involvement in recruitment Conference Enhancement Community technology in recording Conference 300 European recording service launches begins student Themes June at QAA over echo360 Replay Scheduler Phase 1...TRANSITION Student Helper announcement sessions start of thelecture Staff training v2 deployed recruitment chalkboard technology First edition programme Innovative newsletter continues recording Supplier Supplier July

resources -Digital First tranche of recruitment of Festival Fringe 29 spaces over over Room signage School Replay Officers were New academic Postcards and -intimefor Briefing Note go live spaces now Edinburgh use inthe equipped Student Support Support teaching Helpers trained arrives launch Aug First 300

planned) teaching support startsupport of guidance issued Student helpers Student helpers complete with support startsupport of new technology sessions onthe Programme equipped for (26 more than spacesnow recording in Staff drop in University Recording approved recording complete with over evaluation PHASE 2 teaching Lecture published 140 PHASE 1 Research teaching 250 Student findings Court spaces Sept by by

Academic year begins replayed infirst 3,000 Recording Policy implementation support course support Programme administrators recorded and month ofthe Recording approved for Invitation to launched to complete owners and participate More than PHASE 3 Lecture Scheduler lectures released closes Jan 2019 Oct service Lecture Replay PROCUREMENT Phase 3... TRANSFORMATION Phase 2...EXPANSION the first-ever UK Edinburgh hosts schedules now Hopper Replay automatically Echo 360user participants Competitive universities community Recording to Media - 6other selected dialogue added attend event Nov start ofSemester 2 recruited to helpat 6,000 190,000 Student Helpers recorded and competative 2nd round of of content students watched dialogue lectures Dec hours

Recording now Symposium on policy policy Consultation New lecture most outof getting the courses now

10 The right people with the right skills and knowledge

11 The project team The success of this programme was rooted in our commitment to build a team of the best people with the right skills. The team was drawn from across the professional services areas of the University and included learning technologists, AV specialists, project management, academic research, policy expertise, communications expertise and expertise in timetabling and student systems. Delivering a digital transformation change programme like lecture recording at scale required the team to consider the wider contexts in which the technology will be used and to address all of these as well as delivering technology on the ground.

Communications

Let’s talk about lecture recording Our Communications team was strategically involved from the inception of the lecture recording project. Engagement strands reached out to academic colleagues and students throughout the delivery of the communications programme to define key messages. The team also engaged with Edinburgh University Students’ Association to connect with students and led a programme to understand the local context and address concerns. We knew that demand for lecture recordings was high amongst students and even before the first piece of equipment was installed in a lecture space, the team had published communications to students heralding the project and had launched a poll to name the service. We conducted a detailed stakeholder analysis to target our messages and developed the concept of the ‘user journey’ through a communications lens. We visited each of our academic schools on several occasions to listen to feedback on the roll-out, training and policy. Our team produced monthly newsletters and worked with graphic designers on collateral for an institution-wide campaign You can read the lecture recording Teaching to inform and enable academic colleagues to opt-out of Matters mini-series at: lecture recording ensuring that they felt in control at all www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/tag/ times. mini-series-lecture-recording/ To spread the messages about how lecture recordings contribute to teaching we published a weekly lecture recording mini-series on the University of Edinburgh ‘Teaching Matters’ blog for three months. The series You can see the full communications plan, now shared the findings from the Edinburgh evaluation of included as part of the UCISA comms toolkit: lecture recording, heard opinions from staff and student www.ucisa-comms-toolkit.org/library/ users, and analysed the research base. downloadables/Lecture_Recording_ Communications_Plan_V1.01_University_of_ Edinburgh_-_udated_June_2018_-_PDF_.pdf 12 Clear identity, clear purpose The identity branding of our lecture recording service was a vital consideration as it would help reinforce the Key Choices: service offer for users and identify this new service as part of a larger set of tools which support the use of media in • Communications were embedded as a learning and teaching. strategic function from inception. Our existing media service is named Media Hopper, after • We use the word ‘record’ rather than Grace Hopper, the pioneering computer programmer ‘capture’. who famously said “the most dangerous phrase in the language is ‘we’ve always done it this way’”. Media • We called the service ‘Replay’ to Hopper gathers together a multitude of video and highlight that it is an enhancement audio material from all over the University, brings it resource rather than a replacement for into one place and channels it into our Virtual Learning lecture attendance. Environments (VLEs), websites, portals and blogs. It also applies standards and metadata. • We chose not to feature images of video cameras – we always use We put a great deal of thought into how to build lecture images of students in lecture theatres recording into the Media Hopper family of services. We initiated a poll to find a new short name for the or watching videos to reinforce the new service and branded the virtual home of lecture learning and teaching benefits over recording as ‘Media Hopper Replay’ to emphasise the use the technical aspects. of recordings as a back-up resource to watch and listen again. With Replay, learners can view all of the lecture recordings for their course anytime and anywhere via computer, laptop or mobile device. They can pause, rewind and skip the recorded content.

Our existing media service is named Media Hopper after Grace Hopper, the pioneering computer programmer 13 Student collaboration Students have been at the heart of the Lecture Recording Programme, from Key Choices: procurement through to delivery and support, providing a unique insight • In addition to the into students’ needs and wants from a lecture recording service. Through the University’s internship programme, students have delivered: ‘pause while live’ functionality, once a • advice on choice of supplier as part of the procurement process recording has been • training sessions for staff processed lecturers

• information and marketing tools can review, edit, and even change when it • front-line help and support for new users becomes available for • updates and reports in Programme meetings students to view.

We knew we would need a lot of hands on deck for the start of the 2017/18 • Signage in rooms and 2018/19 teaching years as well as support for the use of the new system complements the at the start of lectures. A group of students were trained to provide on the spot recording light/ support to lecturers new to recording and signpost to other sources of support buttons ensuring to ensure the smooth running of the service with the focus firmly on making it that it is always clear as easy as possible for academic colleagues to use Media Hopper Replay. whether recording is taking place. • As well as scheduled Key Choices: recordings, Media • Our student helpers visited teaching spaces across the Hopper Replay also campuses during the first week of teaching in each allows lecturers Semester. to perform ad hoc • They were able to provide immediate advice on use of and live-streamed the pause button in the room and could quickly direct recordings. academic colleagues to sources of further help and guidance on use of AV equipment. • They worked as visible champions for the service and helped to ensure colleagues felt supported. A number of colleagues were encouraged to give the service a try as a result of this support.

Flexibility and control In order to address the concerns we had heard from academic colleagues, we designed a system and policy to make sure that academic colleagues were in control of their own materials. Unlike some other lecture recording systems elsewhere, we provided ‘pause recording’ lights/buttons on the desks in teaching spaces so that lecturers could pause and re-start a lecture according to their teaching requirements and pedagogical style. 14 Very helpful and user-friendly system Training which made the training session nice and straightforward. Carry Arnold Our training provision goes beyond how to use the software technically and The University of Edinburgh covers issues such as copyright and licensing of resources used in teaching. We Business School delivered a comprehensive 16-month programme of training and resources to help users of the service prepare for, deliver and enhance recorded lectures using Media Hopper Replay. The programme accommodated online, face-to- face and on-demand materials as well as providing drop-in clinics. Interactive sessions helped lecturers maximise use of the new tools provided, using lecture recording to enhance teaching. This all contributed to our academic This was an colleagues feeling safe, in control and well-supported. The training resources excellent session – extremely continue to be available after the launch phase of the programme on a informative and interesting. ‘business as usual’ basis. Katja Robinson Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) Key Choices: • To link the training and support to our wider provision in digital skills training programme to highlight the new areas of knowledge colleagues need to make informed choices about how their recordings are made and used. • To highlight the copyright and Intellectual Property issues inherent in lecturing and support colleagues in making choices about the materials they use in their teaching. • To explicitly promote re-use of materials in line with our open educational resources (OER) policy. • To make training in multiple formats available whenever and however colleagues wanted it.

You can read more about the training programme at: www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/ learning-technology/media-hopper- replay/training

15 Policy

The scale of the Lecture Recording Programme and the The new opt-out lecture profound changes it brought to the practice of learning and recording policy was teaching meant that a new and robust lecture recording introduced on 1st January policy had to be developed. 2019. The University Senate’s Learning and Teaching Committee (LTC) established a The policy supports staff policy task group with representation from academic and professional staff, in delivering an improved, students and trades unions. The task group developed a draft policy that was released for wide consultation around the University between 11 January and consistent student 19 February 2018. There was excellent involvement in the consultation with experience, and provides 80 responses received from a wide range of stakeholders, representing the clarity on the rights of those views of 27 Schools, committees or organisations and around 150 individuals. involved in each recording and the conditions under The consultation overlapped with a period of industrial action by the UCU which lectures should and trade union over pensions, and the use of recordings during strike action became a live and contentious area for senior management. Events during this should not be recorded, time highlighted the potential for using recordings in ways that staff may not released to students or have hitherto anticipated and we adapted and improved the policy as a result. released publicly. The outcome was even greater clarity in the final policy in regard to permitted and prohibited uses of the recordings. The final policy includes a range of significant changes from the consultation draft in response to feedback received during the consultation. This work considered carefully areas such as IP and performance rights and retention and reuse. Key Choices: • To develop the policy as a task group of LTC. • To consider privacy and data issues while waiting for certainty on the then-imminent GDPR changes. • To involve the UCU in the task group from the start. The new lecture recording policy demonstrates a real commitment from the University to supporting the learning and welfare You can read the new lecture policy here: of all students. We know how much www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/ students value the availability of lecture learning-technology/media-hopper- recordings to support their learning, replay/help-and-support/frequently- especially those who have additional asked-questions/lecture-recording- learning needs or don’t have English policy as a first language. Diva Mukherji 16 EUSA VP Education Each company in the competitive dialogue was The right technology – Echo360 separately invited on site three times. We ensured the day had and Media Hopper Replay exactly the same structure, with suppliers meeting exactly the Selecting our supplier partners same people within the University, including the same student Knowing that lecture recording is a fast-moving market, we used competitive representative. dialogue for the tender process. There was a huge amount of fact-finding to Colin Forrest be done and we knew that standard procurement processes would not enable Project Manager us to dig down into the details of a potential supplier’s solutions and services. We were looking for a progressive, long-term partnership, so we wanted to get beyond the superficial as quickly as possible. We also had a very tight time schedule, with a target of less than twelve months to procure and get up and running. Every day our students We had comprehensive professional support from colleagues in and academic colleagues engage in Procurement and following a rigorous evaluation and selection world-class teaching and cutting-edge process, we selected Echo360 as our university-wide academic research. Similarly, we seek to constantly video platform. Echo360 were the best supplier on a evolve and support an excellent academic combination of technical capability, implementation capability, experience for our students. Echo360’s approach service support, and long-term innovation commitment. to lecture recording allows us to pair sound Echo360 is used by over three million students in 30 countries and focused entirely on supporting the needs of education. teaching practice with robust, high quality video and analytics, and is creating new opportunities for meaningful learning experiences. Anne-Marie Scott Deputy Director of Learning, Teaching and Web Services

The new lecture recording policy demonstrates a real commitment from the University to supporting the learning and welfare of all students. We know how much students value the availability of lecture recordings to support their learning, especially those who have additional learning needs or don’t have English as a first language. Diva Mukherji EUSA VP Education 17 In-house development of Replay Scheduler A great deal of thought, planning and technical ingenuity went In collaboration into making a very complex area of data integration highly with colleagues across the campus usable and apparently simple. The Replay Scheduler built at we designed a simple-to-use web University of Edinburgh is an online tool for the management of application which allows nominated users to lecture recording scheduling preferences. It combines data from opt-out of lecture recording. Behind the our Timetabling system and Echo360 and course leaders use it to take control of their lecture recording and make it as easy as scenes the system is a feat of data integration possible to opt-out. taking feeds from multiple university systems and data from Echo360 to create automatic Service managers of the Echo360 system, our development recording schedules for all lectures in team, plus representatives from timetabling and student systems centrally bookable rooms. worked closely with colleagues in Schools to develop and deliver Marc Jennings software that is robust, reliable and simple for colleagues to use. Service Operations Manager Users were consulted throughout the development process, and the solution was designed to meet their needs. It is important to lower any technical barriers to usage of learning technology systems. In the case of Media Hopper Replay, if lecturers are happy for their lecture to be recorded, they don’t need to do anything, Media Hopper Replay will Key Choices: automatically record all lectures. If they do not want the lecture • To make opting-out of to be recorded there are only three simple steps to follow: recording lectures as simple as possible. 1. Inform their School that they will not be recording a lecture/s • Build in-house Record an opt-out in Replay Scheduler, noting the reason for software that is simple 2. opting-out (pedagogical reasons, privacy/legal/ethical reasons, for colleagues to use. personal reasons) • Record reasons for opt-out to build a 3. Let students know which lectures are recorded and which are not data profile which can be used as the basis for further research, reporting and review.

A great deal of thought, planning and technical ingenuity went into making a very complex area of data integration usable 18 Improvements to teaching spaces Integrating this work with a larger and challenging Estates programme, we wanted to build the technology around the needs of our lecturers. We wanted a system that they could learn to use with a modicum of training and that We wanted wouldn’t put any more demands on their time. We wanted them to be able to to be able to capture absolutely simply arrive and get on with delivering their lecture as they normally would. everything that takes place during a They can just turn up, turn on the system, and switch off from thinking about lecture and for our students to be the recording. able to access the content when and where they need to. Key Choices: Euan Murray Head of Learning Spaces Technology • Each lecture space has a Delcom recording light/ button on the teaching desk which goes red when recording starts. Lecturers can pause a recording which is useful for short group discussions which the lecturer may not want included as part of the main lecture recording. I can honestly say this is the best lecture • Lecturers use a lapel microphone which recharges in capture chalkboard solution its dock between lectures. In many of our teaching I have seen anywhere. spaces we installed a second microphone as backup, Ross Galloway as they are critical to lecture recording working Senior Teaching Development Officer, effectively. School of Physics and Astronomy • We also provide Catchbox ‘throwable’ padded microphones. These are very helpful in large lecture spaces as they ensure that students’ questions are included in the audio recording. • We developed innovative and sector-leading solutions for recording chalkboards and other writing surfaces.

Chalkboards – an ingenious technical solution

As you might expect from the recording was one of the toughest microphone and start writing on institution that brought us the technological nuts to crack for our the chalkboard straight away, and discovery of the Higgs Boson and teams. everything that’s written there will the creation of Dolly the Sheep, be recorded. When faced with a lecture hall full Edinburgh leads the way in cutting- of students, tutors don’t want to Each lecturer has a different way of edge scientific research. Many have to spend time tweaking the working, and uses multiple resources game-changing innovations such recording technology or adjusting at different times. The system as these started life as handwritten camera angles before they start. automatically accommodates this equations, diagrams and calculations. We created a system that lecturers by recording from two sources, Academic colleagues often find can just walk up and use. When which might be a combination of that the best way to communicate the projectors are switched off, it the teaching desk PC, lecturer’s complex concepts to their students automatically goes to chalkboard laptop, document camera, or the is by writing or drawing them using recording mode, and the cameras chalkboard. the traditional chalkboard method point at the writing space being of teaching. Successfully capturing used. A lecturer can just walk into chalkboard surfaces in lecture the lecture theatre, pick up the 19 20 Programme evaluation and research

21 Measuring the success of the programme It was important to the University that we learn as much as possible from this project, not just in terms of a technical roll-out but also as a learning technology which changes the way we teach and learn. We funded research into the institutional impact of lecture recording as well as a range of smaller discipline-specific projects. The programme team supported these research projects through helping to source data from Echo360, facilitating dissemination of findings, and identifying overlaps between projects and future opportunities for collaborative research.

Key Choices: • To do our own, local research to explore and compare the differences between disciplinary cultures and their impact on the roll-out. • Talk to and be clear with our students about how, in their own particular area of study, they can make best use of recordings of lectures. • Actively involve student voices as participants in their education.

The value of lecture recording at Edinburgh The University-wide evaluation of the lecture recording roll-out ran from January–June of 2018 and asked: ‘what is the value of lecture recording at the University of Edinburgh?’. We found that staff and students have concerns encompassing the role of a lecture in wider learning. Generally, students conceived of lectures as a tool that could be used to advance their learning, and they highly valued recordings because of their ability to help students cope with unexpected events. Students were keen to point out that they see more value to attending a lecture than watching it, but when all else fails, the recordings were a great safety net and study aid. For staff, there was a conflict between the ‘performance’ aspects of a lecture, which incorporated copyright, class management, and staff self-consciousness as well as concerns that recordings made lectures ‘canonical’, creating a definitive version of the material in the student’s eye.

You can read the full report ‘The Value of Lecture Recording at the University of Edinburgh’ at: www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/report_ lecreced_0.pdf 22 Student voices, academic voices

23 Student voices

We have placed a high value on the student voice as part of this programme. The roll-out of lecture I have mostly used lecture recording is designed to enhance and transform the recording as a safety net […]. student experience. Students have had representation This was very useful to me, since I unexpectedly on most of our strategic groups and boards. had to go home, and the recordings spared me Edinburgh University Students’ Association also some of the stress of leaving university because I asked for students’ feedback on lecture recording, asking students to write mini-blogs detailing why could catch up from home at my leisure. I approached they used lecture recording, or how they used [the recordings] the same way as a normal lecture, lecture recording. Here are some of their so I took notes while watching/hearing it. In addition, responses which were, overall, very positive. I plan to use the recordings as a means of revision and consolidation for exams, and, if I in the future need to write an essay on something from one of my previous lectures, I think I would see it again in order to get my thoughts flowing on the subject. Marta Christiansen

As a student, it can sometimes be challenging to listen, understand, engage and type (or write down) everything being taught or discussed throughout a lecture. In my experience, professors want their students to engage with them in a lecture. Recording the lecture enables students to be more present and interact with the professor, rather than worrying about capturing everything being said. […] Debates can sometimes arise in lectures, which lecture slides may not cover, that could be invaluable in developing critical analysis. I often find that I learn a topic much more effectively through such discussions. Joan-Sophie Horsu

24 Academic voices

The most influential group for shaping and Enhancing Engagement with Media testing our services has been the Academic Hopper Replay – A Comparative Study User Group which includes Directors of Learning and Teaching and School academic This project tests whether students are more likely champions. to use the advanced facilities of Replay if they are demonstrated to them than by learning the Lecture recording has also become an area of capabilities through experimentation. The importance academic research in its own right, with our popular of sectioning lecture content is also examined through Teaching Matters blog providing a platform to share providing summaries and segmentation of video research findings with the wider institution. Discipline- content. specific research projects, run through our Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme (PTAS), which are providing new insights into lecture recording include: Classroom practices and lecture recording Lecture recording in mathematics and physics This project brings together researchers from three different disciplines to address questions of common concern around characterising classroom practices This project investigates the effect of lecture and the interaction of classroom pedagogy with recording on student learning in Undergraduate students’ use of lecture recordings. It will support Mathematics and Physics. Combining data about use ongoing work on specific questions in each discipline, of recorded lectures with information about attitudes such as investigation of the effectiveness of flipped and attainment, it seeks to discover if underlying classrooms. study beliefs and strategies are a factor in students’ approaches to using the lecture recordings. Lecture recording for inclusive education Enriching recording lectures through linking and creation of rich media This project is devising ways of utilising lecture recording to facilitate inclusivity in teaching and content learning, in response to increasing student demand. Data from this project will inform the development This project brings together, integrates and enhances of guidelines to: support University strategies in several activities including a series of student projects, excellent teaching and student support; develop the the development of an experimental lightweight ways technologies are used to widen access; and platform for working with video materials, and the use cultivate a sense of community and belonging for all of a wiki for coursework and assessment. students.

QualRec: Qualitative exploration of staff You can read about all the PTAS projects at: and student engagement, experience www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic- and behaviour with lecture recording development/learning-teaching/ funding/funding This project aims to understand how lecture recording is taken up by staff and students alike over a longer period of time to inform ongoing educational debate, staff development and You can read the Teaching Matters lecture ultimately promote best practice as the recording mini-series at: technology becomes embedded across www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/ the institution. tag/mini-series-lecture-recording/ 25 Key Statistics

Recordings made Student views

13,000+ 470,000+

2017/201813,000+ academic year 2017/2018470,000+ Full academic year 25,000+ 750,000+

25,000+ 750,000+

2018/2019 academic year 2018/2019 academic year (up to April)

Edinburgh is the Over 8th-largest university by 500 courses enrolment in the linked to the UK with service in its 1st 41,000 students Semester

Competitive over 300 Dialogue process in a compressed teaching spaces 6-month timeline equipped in 3 years

INTERACTION BY TYPE 2018/19

Slide deck views Notes

video views 26 cAPTURES PER MONTH 2018/19 5k

0k AUG Sep oct nov dec jan feb mar Apr may jun jul AdHoc Personal capture scheduled captures

13,779 recordings 18,812 or events in year 1, student logins representing 43% during the first of all timetabled year lectures

3,000 lectures £2.25 million recorded and capital replayed in first month of service investment

100% increase in lecture recording views year on year 27 A model of lecture recording delivery

Key Choices that deliver Key Outcomes At every stage of the lecture programme we made deliberate and definitive Key Choices. Looking back on the success of the programme, we can see the key areas where these choices delivered Key Outcomes. We hope these milestones in our lecture recording journey will provide a useful model for the delivery of such a programme.

Key Outcomes Governance Policy • We established a range of forums drawing together • Our policy was created by a task group of the Senate’s colleagues across the University to strategically guide Learning and Teaching Committee. the programme: Programme Board, Implementation • The unions were involved in policy negotiations from Steering Group, Policy Task Group, Academic User the outset. Group, Technical Special Interest Group, Evaluation and Engagement Group. Technology • We used competitive dialogue to choose a supplier Communications that has proven ideal for the programme. • Communications delivered strategic results from • We have software and hardware that puts the users’ inception of the project through delivery and beyond. needs first. • Our system uses opt-out recording for lectures. Training • Our training programme went beyond system usage Evaluation and research instruction to include wider topics and new areas of • We have gathered feedback from students and staff. knowledge. • We have funded new research into lecture recording • Training was available whenever and however and its impact on learning. colleagues wanted it.

Flexibility • Lecturers can pause, review, edit and change lectures. • Lectures can share content with students before lectures, and make ad hoc recordings.

28 Visit: www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/ learning-technology/media-hopper-replay

Email: [email protected]

@media_hopper

We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information in this brochure before going to print. Design: Graphic Design Service, LTW, ISG, The University of Edinburgh www.ed.ac.uk/is/graphic-design If you require this document in an alternative format please contact: [email protected]

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